The Land Trust's Whychus Canyon Preserve is a wonderful place to see the wildflowers of Central Oregon's high desert. It's sagebrush meadows and juniper forest offer some of the earliest wildflowers of the season, while its cool, creekside canyons delight with entirely different bouquet!
Our list of Whychus Canyon Preserve wildflowers can be found below. We've included approximate bloom times and links to photos for ease of identification. However, please keep in mind that common names are often varied and that bloom times are entirely dependent upon weather and other changing conditions. You can also download a pdf of the list. Happy wildflowering!
**Bloom times are approximate and related to weather conditions more than calendar dates**
| Plant Type | Botanical Name | Common Names | Native Plant? | Flowering Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forb | Achillea millefolium | Common yarrow | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Agoseris glauca | Pale agoseris | Yes | Late Summer |
| Forb | Agoseris glauca (Pursh) Raf. var. laciniata | Sagebrush agoseris, False agoseris | Yes | Late Summer |
| Forb | Amelanchier alnifolia | Saskatoon serviceberry, Western serviceberry | Yes | Midspring |
| Forb | Antennaria dimorpha | Low pussytoes | Yes | Midspring |
| Forb | Antennaria rosea | Rosy pussytoes, Rosy everlasting | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Apocynum androsaemifolium | Spreading dogbane, Mountain dogbane | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Aquilegia formosa | Western columbine, Red columbine | Yes | All Spring and Summer |
| Forb | Asclepius speciosa | Showy milkweed | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Astragalus filipes | Basalt milkvetch, Thread-leaved locoweed, Slimpod milkvetch | Yes | Late Spring |
| Forb | Astragalus reventiformis | Yakima milkvetch | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Forb | Balsamorhiza sagittata | Arrowleaf balsamroot | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Berberis repens | Creeping Oregon grape | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Forb | Blepharipappus scaber | Rough eyelashweed | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Boechera pauciflora | Hairy rockcress | Yes | Late Spring |
| Forb | Calochortus macrocarpus | Sagebrush mariposa lily, Green-banded mariposa lily | Yes | Late Summer |
| Forb | Castilleja chromosa | Desert paintbrush | Yes | Midsummer |
| Forb | Centaurea stoebe L. ssp micranthos | Spotted knapweed | No | All Summer |
| Forb | Chaenactis douglasii | Douglas' dustymaiden, Hoary false yarrow | Yes | Early Summer |
| Forb | Chamerion angustifolium | Fireweed | Yes | All Summer |
| Shrub | Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus | Green (yellow) rabbitbrush, Laceleaf green rabbitbrush | Yes | Late Summer |
| Forb | Clarkia garcilis | Slender clarkia | Yes | Midsummer |
| Forb | Clarkia rhomboidea | Diamond clarkia, Common clarkia | Yes | Early Summer |
| Forb | Collinsia parviflora | Maiden blue-eyed Mary, Small-flowered blue-eyed Mary | Yes | Early Spring |
| Forb | Collomia grandiflora | Grand collomia, Large-flowered Collomia | Yes | Midsummer |
| Forb | Convolvulus arvensis | Field bindweed, Orchard morning glory | No | Spring and Summer |
| Shrub | Cornus sericea | Redosier dogwood | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Forb | Crepis accuminata | Tapertip hawksbeard, Longleaf hawksbeard | Yes | Midspring |
| Forb | Crepis pleurocarpa | Nakedstem hawksbeard | Yes | Midspring |
| Forb | Crocidium multicaule | Common spring-gold, Gold stars | Yes | Early Spring |
| Forb | Delphinium nuttallianum | Twolobe larkspur, Common larkspur | Yes | Early Summer |
| Forb | Diplacus nanus | Dwarf purple monkeyflower | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Draba verna | Spring draba, Common draba, Spring whitlow-grass | No | Early Spring |
| Forb | Epilobium brachycarpum | Desert willowherb | Yes | Late Spring - Midsummer |
| Shrub | Ericameria nauseosa (Pall. ex Pursh) G.L. Nesom & Baird ssp. consimilis (Greene) G.L. Nesom & Baird var. oreophila | Gray (Rubber) rabbitbrush | Yes | Late Summer - Autumn |
| Forb | Erigeron linearis | Linear leaf daisy, Desert yellow daisy, Lineleaf fleabane | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Erigeron poliospermus var. poliospermus | Purple cushion fleabane | Yes | Late Spring |
| Forb | Erigeron pumilus | Shaggy daisy | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Forb | Eriogonum polyanthum | Sulfur-flower buckwheat, Sulphur flower, Sulphur eriogonum | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Erigonum sphaerocephalum | Roundhead buckwheat | Yes | Early Summer |
| Forb | Eriogonum umbellatum Torr. var. dichrocephalum | Sulfur-flower buckwheat | Yes | Midsummer |
| Forb | Eriophyllum lanatum | Oregon sunshine, Woolly yellow daisy | Yes | All Spring and Summer |
| Forb | Erysimum capitatum | Sanddune wallflower, Western wallflower, Rough wallflower | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Erythranthe guttata | Seep monkeyflower, Seep-spring monkeyflower, Common western monkeyflower | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Fragaria virginiana | Virginia strawberry, Mountain strawberry | Yes | Late Spring |
| Forb | Fritillaria atropurpurea | Spotted fritillary, Spotted mountain bells | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Forb | Fritillaria pudica | Yellow fritillary, Yellow bell | Yes | Early Spring |
| Forb | Geum macrophyllum | Largeleaf avens | Yes | All Spring and Summer |
| Forb | Hemizonella minima | Opposite-leaved tarweed, Smallhead tarweed | Yes | Late Spring |
| Forb | Heuchera cylindrica |
Roundleaf alumroot | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Forb | Heuchera micrantha | Crevice alumroot, Small-flowered alumroot, Crevice heuchera | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Forb | Hieracium scouleri | Scouler's woollyweed, Scouler's hawkweed | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Ipomopsis aggregata | Scarlet gilia, Skyrocket | Yes | Midsummer |
| Forb | Iris missouriensis | Rocky mountain iris, Western blue iris | Yes | Early Summer |
| Forb | Lathyrus latifolius | Perennial pea, Everlasting pea, Perennial sweetpea | No | All Spring and Summer |
| Forb | Layia glandulosa | Whitedaisy tidytips, White layia | Yes | Midspring |
| Forb | Leptosiphon bicolor | True babystars, Bicolored flaxflower | Yes | Late Spring |
| Forb | Leucocrinum montanum | Common starlily, Sand lily | Yes | Late Spring |
| Forb | Lewisia rediviva | Bitterroot | Yes | All Spring |
| Forb | Linanthus pungens | Granite prickly phlox, Granite gilia | Yes | Early Spring - Midsummer |
| Forb | Linum lewisii | Lewis flax, Western blue flax | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Forb | Lithophragma parviflorum | Smallflower woodland-star, Prairie star | Yes | Early Spring |
| Forb | Lithospernum ruderale | Western stoneseed, Columbia puccoon, Western gromwell | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Forb | Lomatium gormanii | Salt and pepper, Gorman's lomatium | Yes | All Spring |
| Forb | Lomatium macrocarpum | Bigseed biscuitroot, Giant-seed lomatium, Large-fruited biscuitroot, Large-fruited desert parsley | Yes | Early Spring |
| Forb | Lomatium triternatum | Nineleaf biscuitroot, Lewis's lomatium | Yes | Midspring |
| Forb | Lupinus aridus | Desert lupine | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Lupinus polyphyllus | Bigleaf lupine, Large-leaved lupine | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Forb | Lupinus sericea | Silky lupine | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Maianthemum stellatum | Starry false lily of the valley, Star Solomon's seal | Yes | Late Spring |
| Forb | Malva neglecta | Common mallow, Cheeseweed, Buttonweed | No | All Summer |
| Forb | Mentzelia albicaulis | Whitestem blazingstar, White-stemmed stick-leaf | Yes | Midspring |
| Forb | Microsteris gracilis | Slender phlox, Midget phlox, Annual phlox, Pretty little phlox | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Nothocalais troximoides | False agoseris | Yes | Midspring |
| Forb | Packera cana | Gray groundsel, Woolly groundsel | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Penstemon humilis | Low beardtongue, Lowly penstemon | Yes | Midsummer |
| Forb | Penstemon rydbergii | Rydberg's beardtongue, Rydberg's penstemon | Yes | Midsummer |
| Forb | Phacelia hastata | Silverleaf phacelia | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Forb | Phacelia heterophylla | Varied-leaf phacelia | Yes | Midsummer |
| Forb | Phacelia linearis | Threadleaf phacelia | Yes | All Spring |
| Shrub | Philadelphus lewisii | Lewis's mock orange, Western syringa | Yes | Early Summer |
| Forb | Phlox diffusa | Spreading phlox | Yes | Midspring |
| Forb | Plagiobothrys tenellus | Pacific popcornflower | Yes | Midspring |
| Forb | Plantago lanceolata | Narrowleaf plantain, English plantain, Lanceleaf plantain | No | All Year |
| Forb | Plectritis macrocera | Longhorn plectritis, White plectritis | Yes | Midspring |
| Forb | Polemonium occidentale | Western polemonium, Western Jacob's ladder | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Potentilla gracilis | Slender cinquefoil, Fivefinger cinquefoil | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Shrub | Prunus virginiana | Chokecherry | Yes | Late Spring |
| Shrub | Purshia tridentata | Antelope bitterbrush | Yes | Late Spring |
| Forb | Ranunculus glaberrimus | Sagebrush buttercup | Yes | All Spring |
| Shrub | Ribes cereum | Wax currant | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Shrub | Rosa woodsii | Woods' rose | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Scutellaria nana | Dwarf skullcap | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Forb | Sedum stenopetalum | Wormleaf stonecrop | Yes | All Summer |
| Forb | Sidalcea oregana | Oregon checkerbloom, Oregon checker mallow, Marsh hollyhock | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Forb | Silene douglasii | Douglas's catchfly, Douglas's campion | Yes | All Spring and Summer |
| Forb | Sisymbrium altissimum | Tall tumblemustard, Jim Hill mustard | No | All Spring and Summer |
| Forb | Sisyrinchium idahoense | Idaho blue-eyed grass | Yes | Midsummer |
| Forb | Solidago elongata | West coast goldenrod, Narrow goldenrod | Yes | All Summer |
| Shrub | Spiraea douglasii | Rose spiraea, Douglas's spiraea, Hardhack | Yes | All Summer |
| Shrub | Symphoricarpos albus | Common snowberry | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Forb | Townsendia florifer | Showy Townsend daisy | Yes | Late Spring - Early Summer |
| Forb | Toxicoscordian paniculatum | Foothill death camas | Yes | Early Spring |
| Forb | Tragopogon dubius | Yellow salsify, Goat's beard | No | All Summer |
| Forb | Verbascum thapsus | Common mullein, Woolly mullein | No | All Summer |
| Forb | Viola purpurea | Goosefoot violet, Purple-backed violet, Mountain violet | Yes | Late Spring |
Learn more:
- About Whychus Canyon Preserve.
- During wildflower season, join us for a guided wildflower hike!